Representatives of 12th and Haskell Recycling Center, including owner Bo Killough, left, met with residents of the Brook Creek Neighborhood on Wednesday to discuss changes in operations on the property that is so close to homes in the area. The city has facilitated the meetings instead of closing the business for violation of land-use codes.

After years of conflict between neighbors in the Brook Creek Neighborhood and the 12th and Haskell Recycling Center, the parties are attempting to come to an agreement.

“We have to go through the steps and give everybody a chance,” said Byron Wiley, a Brook Creek resident.

Wiley said the recycling center has posed problems for his neighborhood that include noise and environmental issues. He and other residents have filed numerous complaints with the city of Lawrence and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Scott McCullough, director of Planning and Development Services for the city, said the recycling center does have problems.

“We’ve got a property in violation of some land-use codes, and we’ve got a neighborhood with some valid complaints about nuisance based on the elements of land use,” McCullough said.

But instead of simply shutting the business down, the city has offered to facilitate mediation meetings with the interested parties. The first of these meetings took place Wednesday afternoon at the recycling center.

After some brief introductions, the center’s owner, Bo Killough, guided the group on a tour of the facility. He spent much of the tour explaining the improvements he’s made to the property to make life easier for his neighbors.

“We’ve done a lot of things. One thing, we used to have a microphone system outside. We put a light system in (for communication) so there’s no more walkie-talkie talk out loud,” Killough said.

He also answered questions from his neighbors. Some wanted to know how long junked cars sat on the lot. The recycling center has been the scene of numerous fires since 2004 that started from fluids not being properly disposed of from cars on the property.

KDHE investigated the recycling center Jan. 28-29. Shortly after, the department issued an emergency order requiring the business to change its practices.

Killough said he’s not interested in causing problems in the neighborhood, so he’s attempting to address residents’ concerns.

“We’re here to work with them” Killough said.

McCullough said the first mediation meeting is just the beginning of perhaps many.

“I think there’s room here, opportunity to get some win-win resolution to the land-use violation that the neighbors can live with and the owner can live with. If there are those opportunities, we’re here to try and find them,” McCullough said.